N.B.Taylor & Co., Inc. Realtors
356 Boston Post Rd, Sudbury, MA 01776
(978) 443-8300 | [email protected]
356 Boston Post Rd, Sudbury, MA 01776
(978) 443-8300 | [email protected]
If you recently bought or sold a house, you may need to vacate your residence sooner rather than later. This probably means that you'll need to prepare a wide range of large items for moving day, including your furniture.
Ultimately, moving furniture from Point A to Point B can be quick and simple – here are three tips to help you transport chairs, couches and other furniture to your new address.
1. Pick Up Furniture Sliders
When it comes to moving furniture, it pays to work smart – not hard. If you purchase furniture sliders prior to moving day, you should have no trouble moving furniture over carpet, grass or other rough surfaces.
Furniture sliders usually are inexpensive and easy to find at any hardware or home goods store. Plus, these sliders can be placed under the legs of any chair or couch to make it simple for you to glide your furniture across rough surfaces.
To install furniture sliders, you'll need to lift each corner of a piece of furniture and move the sliders underneath. By doing so, you can use these sliders to reduce friction when you push furniture across a rough surface, resulting in a faster, more efficient move.
2. Consider Lifting Straps and a Hand Truck
Let's face it – furniture can be tough to move on your own. Fortunately, if you purchase lifting straps and a hand truck, you can avoid putting too much pressure on your body while you move furniture.
Lifting straps are designed to help minimize weight on your back, making them ideal for moving furniture and other heavy objects. They require two people to use and help these individuals share the weight of heavy items. However, you should not use lifting straps if you plan to move furniture up or down stairs, as the weight of a piece of furniture will shift to the person on the bottom.
Also, a hand truck represents a worthwhile moving day investment, particularly for those who need to move lots of furniture quickly. Hand trucks are available in a variety of sizes and enable you to wheel furniture in and out of a home.
3. Hire a Moving Company
If you need to move furniture and have no idea what to do, there is no need to worry. Many moving companies are available in cities and towns nationwide, and each of these businesses employs friendly, knowledgeable moving professionals.
Moving furniture can be time-consuming and physically demanding. On the other hand, if you hire a moving company, you can avoid the challenges commonly associated with moving furniture from one location to another.
Lastly, if you need extra help to move furniture or other heavy items, you should consult with a real estate agent. In addition to helping you buy or sell a house, a real estate agent can connect you with the top moving companies in any area.
Enjoy a quick, seamless transition to a new address – use the aforementioned tips, and you can simplify the process of getting your furniture to your new address.
If this is your first time buying a home, you might feel a bit intimidated by the purchase contract. Contracts are often filled with industry and legal jargon, making them difficult to understand for the average buyer and seller.
Contingencies in particular give some buyers cause for concern because their contract depends on the contingencies being fulfilled. However, in most cases contingencies are pretty standard and only serve to protect the interests of both the buyer and seller during a real estate transaction.
In today’s post, I’m going to give you an introduction to contingency clauses and break down some of the most common contingencies you’ll find in today’s real estate purchase contract.
Simply stated, a contingency clause is a statement within a contract that requires a certain event takes place before the contract is considered legally valid. As a result, contingency clauses are used to cancel or invalidate a contract if certain conditions aren’t met before the sale is made final. So, if one party fails to meet the obligation of the contingency, the other party is no longer bound by the contract (or required to buy or sell the house).
Contingencies can get confusing when they are vaguely worded in the contract, making them difficult to interpret. In these cases, a court may decide the specific meaning of the clause or determine that it is too vague to be legally upheld.
The other instance in which contingency clauses can be confusing is when a party includes a contingency that is atypical for a real estate purchase contract. Buyers and sellers alike should be wary of unusual contingencies.
Appraisal contingency. Designed to protect the buyer, appraisal contingencies require that a home is appraised at a minimum amount, which is stated in the contract.
Financing contingency. Another contingency geared toward protecting buyers is the financing contingency. It states the number of days that a buyer has to secure financing for the home. This allows the buyer to cancel the contract (and offer) if they’re unable to secure suitable financing for the home.
Inspection contingency. One of the most important and most common contingencies is the inspection contingency. It allows the buyer to have the house inspected by a licensed professional within a certain number of days. This protects the buyer against unforeseen expenses and repairs that will need to be made in the near future.
House sale and kick-out contingencies. A house sale contingency gives the buyer a certain number of days to sell their home before financing a new one. However, since this can be a risky clause for sellers, a kick-out clause is often included. This contingency allows the seller to keep the home on the market and entertain other offers while the buyer secures financing and sells their other home or homes.
Image by Marzenna Gaines from Pixabay
With spring just around the corner, your thoughts may turn to enjoying the great outdoors. By making a few improvements, you can create your own restful, outdoor oasis even as you add value to your home.
Research has found that homeowners often gain the most value by improving backyards and investing in outdoor upgrades. Among enhancements you can make outside your four walls, kitchens and living rooms rank as the most popular — and they allow you to move your entertaining outside, where you can enjoy seasonal beauty.
What are some steps you can take to create an appealing outdoor living space?
Before you begin creating your outdoor common area, consider your goals. Do you prefer a place to entertain or a serene, private retreat — or a combination of both? Your intended use of the space will guide you in choices for design, landscaping and furnishings.
Take a look at your patio or deck structure. Is it stable, sturdy and in good shape? Could it use a comprehensive refurbishment or at least a new coat of paint?
You may want to take some measurements to ensure that everything you plan to include in your outdoor retreat will fit in the intended space. If you come up a little short, consider working with a contractor to expand or rework your existing patio. Alternatively, you may opt to build a completely new home base for your outdoor living space.
In addition, take a look at the areas surrounding your patio or deck. Are the walkways in good shape? Is there direct access from parking areas to the yard so that guests need not come through your house to join the party? Does the path for foot traffic keep people off your lawn? If you’d prefer a different traffic pattern, now is the time to make changes.
Once you’ve created the basic footprint for your new outdoor living area, it’s time to start making the space your own with some personal touches. Start by considering comfortable seating options to accommodate your maximum number of guests.
Beyond seating, the sky is the limit when it comes to appointing your outdoor space. If you love to cook outside, consider adding a full kitchen setup with grilling station to your entertaining area. Enjoy the warmth of a cozy fire on chilly nights? Add a fireplace — complete with pizza oven. Meanwhile, landscaping details such as water features enhance the natural beauty of your outdoor area.
With a little creativity, you can create an outdoor living space that adds value and enjoyment to your home for many years to come.
As a homebuyer, you may want to consider the seller's perspective before you submit an offer to purchase your dream house. That way, you can boost the likelihood of receiving an instant "Yes" to your homebuying proposal.
Now, let's take a look at three tips to help you analyze the seller's perspective.
1. Review the Prices of Comparable Homes
Once you find your dream home, you may want to take a look at the prices of comparable residences in the same city or town. This housing market data can help you narrow the price range for houses in a particular area.
With insights into the prices of houses that are similar to your dream home, you can put together a data-driven offer to purchase. Perhaps best of all, you can avoid the risk of submitting a "lowball" homebuying proposal that misses the mark with a home seller.
2. Assess the Housing Market
The current state of the housing market may have far-flung effects on how much you should offer to pay for a residence.
For instance, in a buyer's market, there is an abundance of available houses and a shortage of buyers. This often means buyers can browse dozens of outstanding houses and won't necessarily face steep competition to acquire the right residence at the right price.
On the other hand, a seller's market favors sellers. It generally features an abundance of buyers and a shortage of top-notch residences. Therefore, if you're searching for a home in a seller's market, you may need to submit a competitive offer to purchase to secure your dream house.
Review the housing market closely so you can differentiate a buyer's market from a seller's market. If you find houses are selling quickly at or above sellers' initial asking prices, you likely are operating in a seller's market. Or, if you find houses linger on the real estate market for many weeks or months and sell at or below sellers' initial asking prices, you may be working in a buyer's market.
3. Collaborate with a Real Estate Agent
A real estate agent is a homebuying expert who can provide you with housing market insights that you may struggle to obtain elsewhere. Plus, he or she can help you evaluate the seller's perspective so you can submit a competitive offer to purchase the home of your choice.
Let's not forget about the assistance that a real estate agent provides throughout the property buying journey, either. A real estate agent can help you hone your home search and find your ideal residence in no time at all. Furthermore, if you have concerns or questions at any point during the homebuying journey, a real estate agent is ready to address them.
Want to purchase your dream house at a price that matches your budget? Consider the seller's perspective – you'll be glad you did. If you review the seller's perspective, you can craft a competitive homebuying proposal and move closer to acquiring your ideal house at a budget-friendly price.
Image by ErikaWittlieb from Pixabay
Home staging used to be a novelty you watched on the HGTV network. At the end of the program, the hosts would show up with a truckload of furnishings and a bunch of landscaping plants, and presto — a home would be transformed before your eyes.
Today, home staging is a thriving bicoastal industry making inroads everywhere across the United States, with companies devoted both to renting furnishings and doing the actual staging. The Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) even offers courses to train professionals.
There's a reason for all this interest. Staging sells homes faster — up to seven times faster in some markets — and attracts more buyer interest. Here's the why and how.
Home staging is a form of marketing designed to show off your home's benefits to potential buyers. While part of that process is to purge the visual space of oddities that might be a turn off for most buyers, it's not just about decluttering and tidying.
One of the main purposes of staging your home is to show prospective buyers how they would use the space.
Suppose, for instance, that you have a spare room that is right now filled with junk. Whether to stage that space as a bedroom or an office depends on current buyer trends in your neighborhood. Is it mostly families? Young professionals? Your staging goal is to appeal to the buyers most likely to be at your open house and show them why your house is a functional space.
Though functionality is key, you also want to follow basic design principles when staging your home.
Neutral colors appeal to most people, as do rooms that are brightly lit. If shade or orientation is blocking the sun, make sure to invest in light bulbs that mimic natural lighting. The higher on the Kelvin rating scale, the more you'll achieve a daylight look.
Floating means pulling your seating arrangements into the center of the room to create the illusion of a cozy gathering space. An area rug helps to complete this illusion.
Most prospective buyers who enter your house are going to have already seen the pictures online. This is perhaps the best reason to avoid visual clutter. Spaces that are sleek and minimal look larger and more inviting in photos.
Your landscaping should be freshly maintained, with no dead or dying plants. Make sure that your gutters are clear and the front of the house has been powerwashed, especially window sills. The approach creates a strong first impression that excites buyer interest in the house.
